MATTIE, WHOSE FULL name was Matthew Joseph Thaddeus Stepanek, was born in Washington, D.C., on July 17, 1990…
He had a serious disability, dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. His disability interrupted automatic functioning like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. As a result, he needed a breathing tube and ventilator; a tube was inserted into the top of his heart to administer medicines and IV fluids. Mattie was confined to wheelchair. He died just weeks before his fourteenth birthday.
But that didn’t stop him from becoming a bestselling author and poet, an award-winning speaker, and a recognized advocate for disability and peacemaking. All five of of Heart-songs series of poetry books were New York Times bestsellers. Before he became confined to his wheelchair, he had earned a first-degree black belt in the martial art hapkido.
Despite the challenges of his situation, he was a practical joker who lived by the philosophy “Remember to play after every storm.” Mattie’s enthusiasm for life was infectious, and people around the world were touched not just by the poetry he wrote and the words he spoke, but by the example of how he lived his life.
Mattie refused to allow circumstances to control his destiny. Rather, he mastered his circumstances.
The fact is, all leadership begins with self-mastery. You can’t lead others until you can first lead yourself.
As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” To truly lead, and make a difference in the world, you must always start with yourself.” Mark Sanborn, “The Six Principles of Leadership,” You Don’t Need A Title To Be A Leader, 27-28
“For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, 8 but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” Titus 1:7-9
— Mike Benson